classic

Hopefully the timing chain never needs replacement. Change the engine oil regularly and hope for the best.

I believe the vRS 230 has chain drive camshafts.

Am I missing something, but, why doesn’t the technician remove the auxiliary belt and run the engine to see if it still makes the noise ? If it doesn’t then it’s not the timing belt.

Try these guys https://www.synetiq.co.uk/ obviously used, not new, but they break thousands of late model cars, I’ve always managed to get what I need from them.

No idea on the speed, I guess at least 40+ mph. Officially no gearbox oil change is specified by the manufacturer. e roottoot seems to know a lot about them, I’m sure the oil can be changed if you wanted to do it. The dsg is not like an old style auto box with torque converter. It’s a type of manual gearbox where the clutch and gear changes are worked by gadgetry.

It says Octavia 110kw A7F. A7F is Auto (dsg) / 7 gears / Front wheel drive.

I stand to be corrected, but as far as I know, on the Octavia 3, the 7 speed dsg has to be refilled by pumping in the exact required amount up through the drain plug.

Just checked the service manual - if it’s 6 speed then oil change at 60000km (40k miles more or less). If it’s 7 speed then as, e Roottoot says, no oil change required, sealed for life, there is no filler plug or way to check the level. The 6 speed manual gearbox, which I have, also has no maintenance, other than to check it isn’t leaking. I won’t be changing its oil.

If yours is dsg then the gearbox oil should be changed, sorry I don’t know from memory the period. Spark plugs 40000 miles Air filter 56000 miles or 6 years (I change at 40000 when plugs changed) Pollen filter 40000 miles or 2 years Timing belt is debatable, I’ve said enough on previous threads to say “it’s up to you !” Skoda uk say replace every 5 years regardless of mileage. Brake fluid change, is first time after 3 years then every 2 years.

I do all of my own routine maintenance, you can download any manuals you need from Skoda https://erwin.skoda-auto.cz/erwin/showHome.do You have to pay for time to access Erwin. I think when I did it was €7 for an hour, in which time you can download and save as much as you like. You can get the factory service schedule and workshop manuals for engine, gearbox, electrics, whatever you need. With regards to oil I have used 5w30 and use Opie oils for oil and filter supply https://www.opieoils.co.uk/ I personally have used Castrol Edge Titanium 5w30 LL Fully synthetic and change it approx every 9000 miles (which is every 7 months for me) and it costs about £50 for 5 litres and an oil filter from Opie.

For some reason the front brake PR code isn’t on the sticker in the car boot. There are a few different size discs and the only way to be sure is to measure them. Mine is a 1.4 and it has 288mm diameter discs. Also the pads may or may not have wear sensors. Mine is se spec and doesn’t have wear sensors although every online parts supplier shows my car having wear sensor front pads.... I have had various troubles over the years with vag car brake parts and you want to have the old parts available to compare when you get them from motor factors unless they only list one possibility. I have got brake parts for my Octavia from the local Skoda dealer, their systems tell them exactly what’s fitted to your vehicle. I paid £40 for genuine rear pads which I personally was ok with. Mine will need front discs and pads later this year and I will get them from the dealer.

Mk3 Octavia 1.2 tsi does have a cambelt.

There’s a lot of reports of 1.5 tsi flat spots/difficult to set off smoothly problems. I believe there is a software update for the engine management that improves it. A Skoda dealer should know. (Hopefully!!). Have a read of this :

It won’t be very easy to find out if the seller doesn’t know/want to tell you. The S in Cat S, though, means structural so it’s had a crash. I would have no issues buying a cat S (it will be cheap ) but I’d want to know what the damage was and be able to inspect the quality of the repair. Might be worth paying for an inspection to see it’s been repaired properly.

Thanks for the updates, much appreciated. Enjoy the cars

Looks great. How are you finding it compared to the Octavia ? I’m tempted to get one myself.

My understanding is that a higher ah battery means it has more storage capacity. It is still a 12 volt battery and the battery management system on the car will use voltage as the measure for state of charge. On more old school cars this job was done very simply and successfully by the voltage regulator. Fitting a 70ah in place of a 59ah means your battery could keep cranking the engine for longer and/or more often before needing to be recharged. With stop start it can do more frequent restarts before the system disables the stop start to keep the battery at sufficient charge. If the car is seeing your battery at 60,70%, and never goes above 80% that is probably what it is happily maintaining it at, and would be the same regardless of the ah of the battery. This will enable it to have the ability to use the alternator to put charge into the battery when slowing down or on overrun down an incline. This is marketed as regenerative braking in the brochure. If you drove down the Gottard Pass in Switzerland then checked the state of charge it would probably be 95%. In addition, I may be wrong, (I don’t have vcds but have looked into getting it and researched what it can do), but I don’t think even vcds gives the option to change the ah of the fitted battery. I believe if coding the battery using vcds it would only ask for the new manufacturer, part number and serial number.

I’m glad you’ve got it sorted, thanks for the update

Wino is correct in my opinion. The important thing with cars that have battery management systems is to replace like for like in terms of capacity and type as that is what the system is engineered to work with. I believe, from what I’ve read on the subject, you must replace an AGM with AGM, but can replace an EFB with an AGM. “Coding the battery“, as Wino as says, is actually programming or coding the car computer. And it has only 2 purposes - 1. It logs the battery change time, date, serial number and mileage in the system for warranty purposes. 2. It resets the battery management system to immediately begin relearning the state of health, charge etc of the battery, which will allow it to quickly restore functions such as Stop/Start, which it may have been disabling or restricting due to its perceived understanding of the previous battery. If you change the battery without updating the coding then the battery management system will continue to restrict functions until it has monitored enough battery events (cold starts, charge cycles etc) to be satisfied the battery can cope with operating systems such as stop/start. If you code it then those systems will be restored more quickly, if not immediately. Disclaimer - this is the internet, I post my understanding of subjects and always stand to be corrected by those more knowledgeable

Which is why I would have a try debating it with Skoda. There’s nothing to lose. It’s not the actual seat, there’s no fault with that, or an item of trim. It’s an electronic component within a seat. You aren’t claiming for a seat (which is excluded), you need an electric heater, which happens to be situated within a seat. The wording of the warranty is ambiguous, it says almost all mechanical and electrical are covered then describes a large number of items that aren’t covered, therefore “almost all” can’t actually be covered. I’d ask them that if it had a faulty airbag in a seat would that be covered ? Or if it had electric memory seats would the mechanics and electronics of that also not be covered ?

I think you’d have to argue it directly with Skoda UK warranty department. It’s an electronic component that has failed, but the approved used warranty specifically excludes trim and seats. What it does cover is worded vaguely in a couple of lines then a whole page of specific exclusions and caveats about wear due to age & mileage. APPROVED WARRANTY COVER WORDING What is covered Your ŠKODA Approved Used Warranty covers almost all mechanical and electrical components on your vehicle, subject to the conditions detailed later in this section and the maximum claim limit. There are some components, such as service items, which are specifically not covered and these are listed in detail below. What is not covered Whilst you have a high level of Warranty cover, there are certain items which this Warranty specifically does not cover. Bodywork, paintwork, body component (including encased aerials, gas struts, sunroof assemblies, soft top roofs, and seat frames, strikers, hinges or any component which may require adjustment from time to time). Interior trim including seats, seat belts and pre-tensioners. + A long list of other stuff that I haven’t pasted..... Like most warranties, the suggestion during the purchase process is that the warranty covers everything, but the reality is that it actually covers very little.

Blackvue DR590W in mine, hardwired to the fuse box. No issues with DAB, which works perfectly.

Hope the doors aren’t frozen shut !